A nurse was injured in an attack at the province’s new involuntary care facility in Maple Ridge earlier this month.
Ridge Meadows RCMP attended Alouette Homes in the afternoon of Oct. 8, where a nurse had been attacked by a patient. The health care provider, a 50-year-old man, was taken to hospital with what police called minor injuries, and police are investigating.
Officers have spoken to the victim, and staff at the facility, and are in the process of interviewing other potential witnesses, said a statement from Ridge Meadows RCMP.
Alouette Homes is a mental health facility for up to 18 people who meet the criteria for involuntary care under the Mental Health Act. The patients there are described as having severe and persistent mental health disorders, often combined with addiction and complications such as brain injuries, according to operator Vancouver Coastal Health.
The facility opened in June, with the government saying it would offer care for the residents, and improve public safety.
“Alouette Homes is a first-of-its-kind service in B.C. that will provide patients with individualized care, psychosocial supports and housing in a home-like environment while being involuntary treated under the Mental Health Act,” said Dr. Daniel Vigo, B.C.’s chief scientific adviser for psychiatry, toxic drugs and concurrent disorders, when it opened.
The BC Nurses Union is taking the position that the province needs to hire more nurses, and that improved care would reduce the number of attacks on their members.
The union is meeting with MLAs from across party lines, to tell them that violence in health care – and the failure of government and health authorities to take meaningful action – is standing in the way of retaining and recruiting the nurses needed to implement minimum nurse-to-patient ratios across the province.
“We’re here to ensure every MLA – regardless of political stripe – understands the reality facing nurses on the front lines,” said BCNU president Adriane Gear. “We need all-party support to make violence prevention and safe staffing a real priority for health authorities and the government.”
It is part of a campaign called “Violence. Still Not Part of the Job” campaign, a renewed effort building on a 2017 initiative that also drew widespread attention to the issue.